


The Tears In Their Hearts

by blurrypen



Category: Twenty One Pilots
Genre: Coffee Shops, Confrontations, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Exes, F/M, Falling In Love, Meeting Again
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-10-20
Updated: 2015-10-20
Packaged: 2018-04-27 07:08:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,292
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5038672
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/blurrypen/pseuds/blurrypen
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It all started... Again... That one rainy day in LA, where he ran into the coffee shop without knowing that she was sitting there.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Tears In Their Hearts

**Author's Note:**

> Hey
> 
> Josh/Debby doesn't seem to be a very popular ship here, and that's fine and whatever, but anyways I wrote some shit and I'm gonna post it. Don't know if y'all want this, but if you like it, then let me know and I'll finish the next chapter.
> 
> Enjoyyy.

Coffee stained lips, dirty-blonde hair pulled back in a messy bun, Deborah Ann Ryan was resting in one of the couches in one of the many local coffee-houses. Coming to this place, reading a good book, had almost become a daily task to her. It probably already was considering the fact that she was on first name basis with the few baristas who worked there. Maybe also the fact that they all knew what to make, when the young woman walked in. Debby took it with a smile though. She couldn’t deny the fact that she liked her addiction to the coffee-house. All it was to her was a hideaway from the rest of the world, which she often needed. 

It was another day of reading in the black couch of the coffee house. Today was different though, because she could hear and see drops of rain hit the window that was placed behind the couch. It rarely rained in LA, and Debby secretly loved it. It was soothing to her, and she couldn’t help but feel that it washed away all her worries and brought new positive vibes.  
Today was specially rainy. It’d rained for the past two hours, and she’d been on the couch for one of them. Her hair had been wet from running from her car to the coffee house, through the pouring rain, but she’d quickly pulled it up into a bun and it was now a fluffy, damp knot on top of her head. She didn’t really care though, as she now had good coffee and her shoes kicked off, so she didn't feel bad for resting her feet on the couch as she tore through her current book. 

“Refill?” She looked up to see James, a young, dark-haired barista, probably in his early 20s, standing in front of her, holding what would be a coffee-pot. Lips curling into a friendly smiled, she closed the book and placed it next to her. 

“I really shouldn’t, but…”

“You want it. I know…” James chuckled, skillfully squatting down next to the couch. “I’m sure you deserve it.”

“I blame you baristas for my addiction,” smiling, Debby handed over her now empty mug, letting the young man pour fresh, hot coffee in it. 

“I’ll take it,” James carefully filled the mug and handed it back to her, smiling politely and earning a “Thank you,” from Debby who was now carefully grabbing the hot mug and blowing on the steaming liquid, as the strong aroma immediately gave her brain a wake up call. 

“Anytime,” Debby eyes carefully followed his figure as he walked away, back to his spot behind the desk. 

Soon enough her coffee had cooled down, letting her take a sip of it without completely burning off her lips. Though she’d already had one mug of it, the freshly poured coffee once more seemed to bring her back to life. With one firm hand on the tepid object, she reached over for her book, grabbing it, before she in one swift motion gently placed it on her knee and opened it. Comfortable and content, Debby’s mind was once more swallowed by the capturing universe of her current book. Once in a while she’d put down the coffee, grab her pen and notebook and write down quotes that she wanted to remember. It was not like she really knew what she was gonna do with these quotes, but… It felt nice to pay this much attention to the words. Indeed; She was taking her time, reading the book carefully and meticulously, because just like some people, some words needed more attention. 

While her mind was engulfed in the magical world of words, it did pick up the bell ringing when someone walked in. She wouldn’t pay much attention to it though, as people regularly walked in and out. As matter of a fact, she didn’t even bother to look up anymore. She’d come to the conclusion that people were rarely more interesting than words. Especially new, undiscovered words. As per usual when a new customer stepped in, the sound of the brewing machine could be heard few moments later, soothingly humming in the background as it worked on a delicious cup of something for the newly arrived guest. 

The machine stopped, a few words were exchanged before footsteps made their way through the shop in a casual, calm pattern. Debby could easily hear where the person was compared to her own position. That was also why she was very puzzled, when the steps stopped a few feet away from her and came back to stop where would be right in front of her, causing her to look up and discover a manly figure standing before her. It was clad in casual, black, rather skinny jeans and a dark gray hoodie, where the hood was sheltering the figures head and face. His breath hitched, signaling that he was about to speak, but she was faster.

“Can I help you?” She put down her book, feeling slightly threatened by the mysterious approach. 

“Deb? Don’t you recognize me?”

A frown crept onto Debby’s face, telling the mystery-man that she was confused. Almost immediately he pulled off the hood and tugged on his black hair, damp, probably caused by the rain. Both she and the man believed that her eyes were going to pop out of her head and fall to the floor. Of course she remembered him! Her heart immediately started pumping faster. How could she not remember him?!

“Joshua?” 

“Yeah,” he let out a muffled chuckle as she put her book and mug aside and stood up. 

“Oh my goodness,” she responded, adding another chuckle to the conversation, before wrapping her arms around his neck and pulling him into a hug. “W-What are you doing here? It’s been so long!”

Deeply affected by his touch, she felt flowers blooming in her stomach when the slightly older man responded to the hug by wrapping his arms around her waist to hug her back. His arms… They were so strong. Just like they used to be. The sad smile quickly vanished from her face, when she felt him pull back from the hug, followed by his eyes darting into hers. 

“Yeah, it has! I almost didn’t recognize you because your face was buried in that book and your hair has changed. I see you went back to your natural hair color! It's been a while since that color last saw the light, huh?” 

Debby couldn’t help but notice how energetic his voice seemed to be. Was he excited to see her? Or just super surprised? 

“And I’m just here because of touring, you know?” 

She nodded. Of course he was touring. He always was. 

“Do you mind?” He nodded towards the couch. 

“Oh- No! Of course not.”

A warm smile spread across his face, as they both sat down on the couch, immediately turning to look at each other. 

“So! How have you been? It’s been- What? Almost 4 years?” 

“Yeah it has, hasn’t it?” Debby couldn’t help but feel disgusted by that statement. How had they managed to lose track of each other like that. They used to be so important to each other. So close… Knowing that she couldn’t just drop a mood-killer like that, she took a sip of coffee before speaking again. 

“I’ve been good, you know? Just mostly producing and writing. Both music and TV.

“That’s great,” he replied with what seemed to be interest before blowing on the warm liquid. “So I imagine that you’re even more amazing than back then?” 

Another chuckle joined the conversation. “Yeah, well… I do believe I’ve gotten better. It’s hard work, but I love it and wouldn’t trade it for anything else in this world.” She definitely meant it. With so much ache and emotional chaos in her life, she’d been forced to focus on her job. Back when they started drifting apart; that had been one the toughest times of her life, leaving her passion and creative outlet with the responsibility of keeping her sane. The love she had for her job had kept her above water, until she could leave her emotions behind for good and be okay again. 

“Neither should you! Stick with your passion.”

Debby couldn’t help but smile. That man could talk about dead puppies, and she'd still be smiling. He was so supportive and so genuine. He’d always been. Ever since they’d met for the first time, almost 8 years ago, she’d known that he was one of the purest people on earth. Considering the fact that far from everyone deserved it, he looked for the good in everyone. He always wanted the people he loved to succeed and be happy. She’d missed that positive vibe in her life.

“I will,” her mind was half absent as she spoke up, drowning in nostalgia and old memories. Not wanting to seem rude and uninterested, she had to snap out of it. “Speaking of passions… The band- I mean- Wow. You guys are doing amazingly well. Congrats on that.” 

As soon as she’d mentioned it, the band, his eyes lit up and the feeling Debby got was bittersweet. Just like Josh, she also wanted great success for her loved ones, but she couldn’t help but feel that it was success’ fault that she’d lost him. Both her own and his. 

“Thanks! Yeah, it’s amazing! We’re doing great! Couldn’t be happier.” 

After “Blurryface” came out, his and Tyler’s fame had grown, breaking the before stabilized growth. Not only were they not a couple anymore at that point, but on top of that: The both had super busy careers and their friendship seemed to lose value. They were just another couple of broken exes, right?… The album after Blurryface? Explosion! They were already rather famous, but the newest album had caused an even bigger revolution. The guys were pretty well-known worldwide, which also meant more tour-dates, longer periods of him being on the road and far away from home… It ended with him never coming back. Just a truck to pick up his stuff. He'd moved back to Columbus. 

“I’m glad to hear that things are doing great… Y-you really deserve that,” she sent him a shy smile.

“Thank you. Means a lot,” he smiled back, taking another sip from his mug, but without letting his eyes slip away from hers. There was something so intimate about this very simple moment. How could that be? Was she just… Imagining things, because of all the history between them or was there more to it? Her mind was buzzing and buzzing and- That’s when it hit her. There couldn’t be more to it. Not with how things were with… him and her. 

“So- uh. How are things going with Alexandra?” 

A silence walked by, muting the pair as Josh simply sat there in silence though it obviously seemed to be his turn to speak. His fingers danced up a down the side of his warm mug. Nervousness. It clearly showed when he did what he was currently doing to the mug. She remembered it. Clearly. All of his small quirks.  
Finally a sigh broke the silence. 

“Uh, yeah- Alex and I…We broke up like a year ago or something.”

“Oh, I’m so sorry,” that was a lie on her part. “You guys seemed so happy…” 

Pictures of Josh’s fluffy, red mohawk next to the tall, skinny brunette flashed before her eyes. Kissing, hugging, holding hands, looking at each other… Everything that she remembered having with him, but this time with someone else. He’d experienced all these emotions and adventures with someone else and it’d killed her. Not wanting to draw any bad blood, Debby had kept on following him on social medias, causing what most fans would categorize as "cute pictures" of the couple to show up on her timeline once in a while. Cute was not how she would’ve described them. More like painful and killing. 

“I guess we did, but… It just wasn’t right. Something was missing,” he looked up from his mug where his eyes had perviously been resting, now letting them rest on her instead.

“I understand, it’s just… Everyone kept telling me about how crazy you were about her. I just figured she was the one?” 

“I guess, I thought so too…” He paused, letting her know that he was thinking. His eyes turned stern, like as if he was trying to remember something. “And I do think I love her, but not like... That. And even when you do love someone... Like that... Then it just happens that you let them go sometimes, for some reason. Like I did with you.”

Speechless. Utterly and completely speechless. What was she supposed to say? How could he just walk in here and bring up their past like that, in that delicate context, in the middle of the conversation that she’d been trying so hard to keep casual and friendly. How could he just-

“Anyways; Tyler and I have a show tonight. I’d love it if you swung by? Jenna will be there too… You guys could catch up.” 

Not as genuinely as before, but he smiled. Taken back, not really sensing the situation, Debby nodded before sipping her coffee. As quietly as possible. 

“Sure.” 

“Great. See you there.”

In a swift, almost swooping motion, he dipped his head back and drank the last few drops of coffee. Then he got up, pulled up his hood and sent her a warm smile before walking away and leaving the building, leaving behind a very puzzled and slightly uncomfortable and buzzing Debby. 

She was going to get herself and her heart into stupid troubles again. Not what she needed.


End file.
